Portelli scorches to halfway lead

Glen Portelli (Old Fold Manor) lit up the East Region Championship with a six-under-par 65 in the first round.

Portelli boosted his bid to finish top of the Order of Merit with seven birdies and an eagle as he opened up a two-shot lead.

He started with a birdie at the first and moved two-under after picking up another stroke at the third.

Not everything was plain sailing for the Hertfordshire professional as he gave away a shot at the fourth.

However a stunning streak of scoring around the turn saw him surge from one-under to five-under by the tenth.

A bogey at the next failed to derail him as he bounced back at the 12th with a birdie four before delivering the highlight of a fine day’s work on 16.

There he holed a full gap wedge from 134 yards for an eagle two to storm to seven-under-par. His iron landed just short of the pin and rolled in dead weight for the shot of the day.

One of those shots slipped away on the closing par-4 but he will still start day two with a healthy advantage over his rivals.

The nearest of his pursuers will be Mark Talbott (Thorpe Hall), who made five birdies of his own in shooting 67.

Brett Taylor (Rivenhall Oaks Golf Centre), Jack Winer (Abridge G& CC), Chris Cutchie (Colchester) and Luke Goddard (Hendon) are all bang in contention on three-under-par.

In the better-ball competition home professional David Rickwood (Bishop’s Stortford) and amateur partner Scott Warman are in a commanding position after signing for a combined score of 14-under – four clear of Chase Davis (Sprowston Manor) and Aaron Stuttard.